BILLERICA -- Four days after advancing with a victory in a seven-round shootout, the Bedford High boys hockey team left no room for drama in Wednesday night's Division 3 North semifinal against Shawsheen Tech.

Bedford 3 Shawsheen Tech 1

This time around, the ninth-seeded Buccaneers struck early and kept their feet on the gas en route to a 3-1 victory over No. 4 Shawsheen at the Chelmsford Forum.

Bedford (12-8-3) will face No. 3 Swampscott (17-5) in the North final on Saturday at Stoneham Arena (4:30 p.m.). Swampscott defeated Marblehead (4-1) in the other semifinal Wednesday. It's the second straight appearance in the final for Bedford.

Last Saturday, Bedford knocked off top-seeded Lowell, 2-1 in the shootout.

Shawsheen Tech's Ryan Collins, left, and Bedford's Sean Isnor battle for a loose puck along the boards at the Chelmsford Forum. SUN/JULIA MALAKIE

"I told the team that you can't get much more emotional than that game was the other day," said Bedford head coach Mark Fontas. "We're going to be ready for any emotional ride that we're going to face from now on.

"We showed up, and we played a full game, aside from a little slip up at the end. I'm proud of the effort we had for sure."

The Buccaneers nearly earned the shutout, but Shawsheen found the back of the net with 1:19 remaining. Sophomore center Jake Citrano put the Bucs up 1-0 in the first period, and he added another in the second. Senior forward Sean Isner scored a short-handed goal later in the second. Senior forward Anthony Lespasio tallied three assists.

Bedford senior goalie Abe Grainger made 27 saves.

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Shawsheen senior netminder Matt Curran stopped 19 shots. Opportunities were there for the Rams, they just couldn't convert.

Spotted with the three-goal lead, three-year starter Grainger took care of the rest. He picked up right where he left off between the pipes in the shootout win.

"You can tell that Abe is really coming into his own," said Fontas. "He has a lot of confidence after that shootout win. He was on his game tonight, as you could tell."

The teams met earlier in the season, with Bedford coming out on top, 4-1. In that game, Bedford scored three goals in a 33-second span. Shawsheen was well aware of how potent the Bucs can be.

"Bedford is a team that takes care of the puck and takes advantage of its opportunities," said Shawsheen Tech head coach Chuck Baker, whose team finished 14-7-1. "Not all of our opportunities were quality. But we're not a goal-scoring team, our goal every night is to throw pucks at the net and battle for rebounds. My guys did what I asked them to do. This group battled all year long."

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